


been talkin' 'bout the way things change

by sapphicpaint



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Episode: s05e04 Cooperative Polygraphy, Gen, I'm Sorry, Platonic Relationships, Season/Series 05
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:13:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25194466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sapphicpaint/pseuds/sapphicpaint
Summary: “What?” Troy demanded, whipping around to look at Mr. Stone. “No, that can’t be right. Read it again.”“Mr. Hawthorne’s will is very clear. In order for his remaining Hawthorne Wipes shares to be distributed, Mr. Nadir must sail around the world.”(Pierce's will reading goes a little differently.)
Relationships: Abed Nadir & the Study Group, Troy Barnes & Abed Nadir, Troy Barnes & Annie Edison & Abed Nadir
Comments: 25
Kudos: 100





	been talkin' 'bout the way things change

**Author's Note:**

> This work is dedicated to dpngc, for always listening to my sad trobed headcanons and because they haven't kicked me out (yet). 
> 
> If you enjoy this fic, feel free to follow me on twitter!! i'm @dreamatcrium i'd love to make some new friends!
> 
> Title from Rivers and Roads by The Head And The Heart.

“What?” Troy demanded, whipping around to look at Mr. Stone. “No, that can’t be right. Read it again.”

“Mr. Hawthorne’s will is very clear. In order for his remaining Hawthorne Wipes shares to be distributed, Mr. Nadir must sail around the world.”

“Yeah but… alone?” Jeff questioned. “Not only is that unreasonable, and very contestable in court, but that’s just plain cruel. Pierce wouldn’t do that,” he stared intently at Pierce’s old seat, where the large lava lamp now sat. “Would he?”

The study group looked around at each other, wondering who would speak up and say something. Although this was a fairly normal occurrence for them, the tension was somehow thicker than usual. It hung heavy in the air, begging somebody to relieve the pressure that sat on all of their chests. 

They all snuck glances at Abed, noting how he hadn’t moved since the announcement. Instead, he stared straight ahead at the wall,  
his brows furrowed in a way that’s usually familiar and comforting to Troy. 

“Why Abed?” Troy demanded, pointing an accusing finger at Mr. Stone. “If the money is going to all of us, why just him? That’s not fair,” his voice cracked softly. “You can’t force him to go.”

“Nobody is going to force Mr. Nadir to do anything, Mr. Barnes.” Troy opened his mouth to argue, but Mr. Stone continued. “However, the will clearly states that if Mr. Nadir does not fulfill these terms, none of you will ever see a single dollar of Mr. Hawthorne’s fortune.”

Britta gasped in her usual over-exaggerated way. “Oh please, that is such bullshit!” She declared. “Pierce knew that Abed would go, even if he didn’t want to. That asshole is giving him no other choice!” She turned to Abed beside her, adopting her soft (condescending) therapist voice. “Abed, I just want you to know that you don’t have to go. I won’t be mad if you don’t.” 

The rest of the group nodded in agreement. Troy watched Abed intently, waiting for any sign indicating that he was done thinking. Usually, when Abed was processing something, he’d stare intently at a spot at the wall, as if puzzling out a complex math equation that only he could see. There isn’t usually a math equation involved though, or at least, that’s what Abed says when Troy asks. 

“I won’t be mad,” Shirley confirmed, still nodding her head. “But college is expensive, and I have three little ones at home. That money could do a lot for me.” Although she’d spoken what was on some of their minds, Annie and Troy both gave her looks of shock and betrayal. 

“I don’t care about the money,” Annie insisted, glaring at Shirley. “We’re fine without it, I’d rather have Abed than whatever twisted game Pierce is playing.” 

In that moment, Troy had his own realization. Abed liked to call them lightbulb moments, and insisted that, cinematically, it makes for much better storytelling if big realizations were punctuated by dramatic gasps and wide eyes. “Pierce was jealous,” Troy gasped. “He was always jealous of my friendship with Abed, ever since I moved out to live with him.” 

All eyes were on Pierce’s empty seat, as if their gazes could demand an explanation from a dead man. Of course, they couldn’t, but that didn’t stop Troy from wishing that the lava lamp in front of him really did contain Pierce’s soul vapor, or whatever. That way he could open the container again and light Pierce on fire. Or something along those lines. 

“That’s just messed up,” Britta remarked, crossing her arms over her chest. “Even for Pierce. Abed was literally the only one who was actually nice to him. Of course he’d return the favor by doing this.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter,” Troy said. “Tell dead Pierce he can keep his money, because Abed’s not going.” 

“I’ll do it.”

The room went dead for a moment, and the attention shifted away from Troy and slightly to the side, onto Abed. He was no longer staring into space. Rather, he made eye contact with Mr. Stone, speaking directly to him. Silence filled the room once again, as each study member searched for the words to say. 

Despite public opinion, Troy didn’t consider himself stupid. Sure, he wasn’t necessarily academically inclined, and he enjoyed acting slightly younger than his actual age, but he wasn’t stupid. He could tell as soon as Abed’s eyes had cleared and his focus shifted away from the wall that his best friend had made up his mind. He’d solved the complex math equation, and there was only one solution. 

“Abed, no,” Jeff cut in. “You don’t have to do that. I’m sure there’s another way-,”

“There’s no other way.” Abed cut him off. His voice held absolutely no emotion, and Troy felt his eyes fill with tears. “Pierce was a lot of things, but he wasn’t stupid. If this is what Pierce wanted, then he would’ve made sure to make it legally airtight.”

“That’s not fair,” Annie blurted, her eyes matching Troy’s, brimming with unshed tears. “It doesn’t make any sense that only Abed has to leave.”

“No, it doesn’t make sense,” Abed confirmed. “I always pictured Troy as being the first one to leave. Or Annie.” He raised his pointer finger to illustrate his point. “Narratively, they would’ve made the most sense. I figured that I was a permanent fixture of the story, never quite important enough to spin off, or have my own storyline, but crucial enough to everyone else’s that I’d stay.”

“Abed,” Troy exhaled, his breath shaky and quiet. “Buddy, you don’t have to do this,” he whispered, reaching to hold Abed’s hand above the table. Abed let him, probably more so for Troy’s comfort than for his own. The action was familiar. They’d done it countless times, but this time, it felt different. Troy felt the weight of Abed’s hand in his, the curves and grooves of each individual finger and the way that his skin felt warm pressed against Troy’s. He found himself gripping Abed’s hand, trying to memorize each individual detail. 

Abed leaned forward, returning Troy’s hand squeeze. “I think,” he murmured, “I have to. It’s okay, I’m okay with it”

“That’s a lie,” spoke the woman monitoring the lie detector in the corner of the room. 

-

The drive back to the apartment was silent, save for Annie and Troy’s quiet cries. They both sat in the front, with Annie driving and Troy in the passenger seat. On a normal day, Troy and Abed would play rock, guitar, stapler (a much cooler version of rock, paper, scissors) in order to dictate who got to sit shotgun. This time though, the trio quietly made their way to Annie’s car, and Abed slipped into the backseat without another word. 

Nobody moved to speak, each of them quietly contemplating the events of the study room. After Abed had agreed to the terms of Pierce’s will, there had been some papers for him to sign. It hadn’t taken long, but with each scrawl of the pen Troy could hear the nails being hit into the metaphorical coffin. Finding the words to say felt impossible. Abed was the one who knew what words to say. 

Annie, however, had plenty of words to say. She found herself arguing with Mr. Stone, with Jeff, with anyone who would listen, begging them to find another way. Jeff’s reminder that Abed is an adult capable of making his own decisions only seemed to make her more upset. (“I know that!” She had cried. “But he’s doing this for us, don’t you get it?”) Her begging had been to no avail. Abed signed the papers. 

By the time they arrived safely in apartment 303, the trio was exhausted. Annie excused herself back to her room, taking a moment to give both of her boys a soft kiss on the cheek. “I love you,” she whispered to Abed, squeezing his shoulder. (“We’ll be okay,” she whispered to Troy, gently wiping his tears away.)

“It’s… different,” muttered Abed.

“What’s different?” Troy prompted, examining his face, and the way the light shining through the blanket fort cast patterns on Abed’s face.

“Leaving,” he explained, in a coolly detached voice, still staring off into space. “Lots of people have left me in my life. My mom. My dad, to some extent. Almost everyone that I’ve considered a friend, before I met the study group.” Abed’s voice lowered a bit more, before pointedly turning a bit more away from Troy. “You.”

“Me?” Troy’s voice cracked. 

“When you left, for AC School,” he explained, his head tilting in a way that indicated he was flash-backing a bit. “I went crazy, I think. I know it was only for a little while, but I didn’t handle it well.”

Troy felt tears well up, his dam of ever building emotions threatening to finally collapse. “I didn’t want to leave, buddy.” He tried to meet Abed’s eyes, but his friend wasn’t finished yet. 

“I know. I know that.” He squeezed his hands together in his lap. “But being left still messed me up a lot. I understand why you left, though, and it’s okay.”

“But…” Troy prompted, sensing that there was a conclusion that Abed was building to. 

“But.” Abed turned, finally meeting Troy’s eyes. “I’m starting to think that leaving hurts a lot more than being left. When people left me, it felt like there was a gaping hole left in my life, an empty space where that person used to be. And I always thought that if you were the person who did the leaving, you got to be the one who didn’t hurt as much.” Troy took a sharp breath, hanging off of Abed’s every word. “But now I see that the people who do the leaving… they’re the ones who cut the person out of their life. Like a jigsaw puzzle that used to fit together. They have the gaping hole, not the person who gets left.”

With that, Troy felt his emotional dam finally burst, and his tears finally spilt over with a sob. “Abed-,” he choked out. “You can’t leave, please, don’t go.” Abed’s demeanor crumbled, his face falling into a soft frown. He looked at Troy as if he was seeing him for the first time, noting the way the shadows bounced off his face, and the way the light caught the tears streaming down his face. 

He reached out, putting his hand over Troy’s. Troy responded in kind by squeezing his hand softly, and his sobs lessened until they were quiet sniffles. 

“I’m sorry,” Abed said, his voice barely a whisper. “I don’t want to go. I want to just… sit and watch tv with you. But if I don’t leave, the group will resent me forever. They might act like they won’t, but it will always be there, in the background.”

“I-I don’t care,” sniffled Troy. “None of that matters, as long as we’re together. I need you, Abed, please don’t go.” Quiet sobs began to rack his body, and he slumped forward until his forehead was pressed on Abed’s shoulder. If it were anyone else, Abed would feel cramped. But it’s Troy. So instead, he rests his cheek on the crown of his best friend’s head, hoping that the physical comfort is enough to soothe his sobs. 

“You don’t need me, Troy. You never have.” He wrapped his arms around his best friend, squeezing him softly. “Because I’m spinning off, that means that you’re going to occupy more storylines now. Me leaving,” he took a shuddering breath. “It’s all a part of your growth. Our time spent apart is going to transform us into the best versions of ourselves.”

Troy gently squeezed back. “I’m my best self when I’m with you. I don’t need more. The universe can take its stupid character growth and shove it up its ass.” 

Abed laughed, his breath tickling the hair on the back of Troy’s neck. It felt warm, and Troy found himself leaning more into Abed’s embrace. (The last time, a voice in the back of his head reminded him. The last time he’ll hold you.) 

“We’ll be okay,” Abed insisted. “We’ll always be best friends. We promised, remember?”

“I remember. Best friends forever.”

-

“Hey, Abed?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

“I know.”


End file.
